|Fryth.| ¶ That the olde doctours and faythfull Fathers so taught or thought as ye fayne of them, is verye false. For S. Austen as I haue shewed, maketh whollye for vs. Besydes that, there is none of the olde Fathers but they call it a sacramēte, a mysterye, and mystycall meate, which is not eaten with toth or belye: but with eares and faythe. And as towchynge the honoure and worshyppe done vnto it, I saye it is playne Idolatrye. And I saye, that he falselye reporteth vpon the olde holy Doctours. For they neuer taught men to worshyppe it, neyther can he alleage one place in any of them all whiche wolde haue men to worshyppe the sacramente. Peraduenture he maye alleage me certayne new felowes for hys purpose, as Dunce, Dorbell, Durande, and suche draffe, whiche by their doctryne haue deceyued the worlde wyth dampnable Idolatrye. But I speake of the olde holye Fathers ād doctours, S. Austen, Ambrose, Hierome, Cypriane, Cirille, Chrisostome, Fulgentius, and suche other: These I saye, do not teache men to worshyppe it, and by that I dare abyde. Of thys poynte I am so sure, that I wyll vse it for a contrarye argument, that hys naturall bodye is not there presente. For yf the holye Fathers before named had taken thys texte after the letter and not onelye spyrytuallye, thē in their workes they wolde haue taught men to worshyppe it, but they neuer taught mē to worshyppe thys sacrament, therfore it foloweth they toke not the texte after the letter, but onelye spyrytuallye. Now do I prouoke you to seake a proue of your purpose. Neuer the lesse I wyll not denye, but that these holye Doctours in dyuerse places, do call it hys bodye, as Christe and Paule do, and so do we lykewyse: and saye also that this verye bodye is there eatē. But yet we meane, that it is eaten with fayth (that is to saye by beleuynge that hys bodye was broken for vs) ād haue his bodye more in memorye at thys maundye thē the meate that we there eate. |Note.| And therfore it hathe the name of hys bodye: because the name it selfe shulde put vs in remēbraunce of hys bodye. And that hys bodye is there chefelye eaten, euen more (through fayth) then the meate wyth the mouth. And so are they also to be vnderstonde.
|More.| ❧ Yet one greate pleasure he doth vs, in that he putteth vs all at lyberte, that we maye with out parell of dampnacyon beleue as we ded before: that is to wete, that in the blessed sacramēt the whole substaunce of the breade ād the wyne is transmuted ād chaunged in to the verye bodye and bloode of Christe. For yf we maye wythout parell of dampnacyon beleue thus, as hym selfe graunteth that we maye, then graunteth he that we maye also without parell of dampnacyō beleue that he hym selfe lyeth, where he sayeth, the trouth of that beleue is impossyble.
|Fryth.| ¶ The beleuynge of thys poynte, is of it selfe not dampnable, as it is not dāpnable to thynke that Christe is a very stone or a vyne, because the litterall sence so sayeth: or yf you beleue that you ought to preache to fyshes and go Christen them another whyle, as ye do belles. And I insure you, if there were no worse myschefe that ensued of thys beleue, then it is in itselfe, I wolde neuer haue spoken agaynste it. But now there foloweth vpon it dampnable Idolatrye. For through the beleue that thys bodye is there, men fall downe and worshyppe yt. And thynkynge to please God, do dampnable synne agaynste hym. Thys I saye, is the cause that I so earnestlye wryte agaynste it, to avoyde the Idolatrye that is cōmytted through it. Parte of the germanes do thynke that hys naturall bodye is present in the sacramēt, ād take the wordes fleshelye, as Martyn taught them. But none of them worshyppe it, for that Martyn forbyddeth both in hys wordes ād workes, and so (blessed be God) they auoyde that Ieoperdye, which thynge yf you wyll also graunte, and publyshe but this one proposycyon, that it ought not to be worshypped, I promyse you I wyll neuer wryte agaynste it. For then is the Ieoperdye taken awaye, and then I am contēt that your mastershyppe thynke I lye. But in the meane season I muste thynke that ye fulfyll the worlde with dāpnable Idolatrye. And thus haue you also answere vnto the conclusyon, which you alleage out of the kynges graces boke. For I saye in your waye is no hurte, as longe as you do but onelye beleue the bare wordes of the texte, as S. Fraunces ded, when he preached to fyshes. But yf through the occasyon of those wordes, ye fall in to the worshyppynge of it, then I saye that in your waye is vndoubted dampnacyon. And so is there greate Ieoperdye in your waye, and none at all in ours. For though he were there in dede, yet do not we synne yf we worshyppe it not. For we are not commaunded to worshyppe the sacrament. But yf he be not there, then do you dampnable Idolatrye.
¶ The consecracyon of the Sacrament.
|More.| Now as for a nother quyetnes of euery mans conscyencethys yonge man byddeth euerye man be bolde, whether the blessed sacramēt be consecrate or vnconsecrate (for though he moste specyallye speaketh of the wyne, yet he speaketh it of both) and byddeth not care, but to take it for all that vnblessed as it is, because the Preste (he sayeth) can not deceyue vs nor take from vs the profyte of Christes instytucyon, whether he alter the wordes or leaue them all vnsayde. Is not thys a wonderfull doctryne of thys yonge man. We knowe well all, that the Preste can not hurte vs by hys oversyght or malyce, yf there be no faulte vpō our owne partye, for that perfectyon that lacketh vpon the Prestes parte, the great mercye of God as we truste of hys owne goodnes supplyeth it. And therfore as holye Chrisostome sayeth, no man can take harme but of hymselfe. But now yf we see the thynge dysordered our owne selfe, by the Preste, and Christes instytucyon broken, yf we than wetynglye receyue it vnblessed and vnconsecrated, and care not whether Christes instytucyon be kepte and observed or no, but reaken it is as good wythout it as with it, then make we our selfes partakers of the faulte and lose the profyte of the sacrament, and receyue it with dampnacyon: not for the Prestes faulte, but for our owne.
|Fryth.| ¶ I had thought that no Turke wolde haue wrested a mannes wordes so vnfaythfullye. For he leaueth out all the pythe of my matter, for my wordes are these. I wyll shewe you a meanes how ye shall euer receyue it accordynge to Christes instytucyon, although the Prest wolde withdrawe it from you. Fyrste ye neade to haue no respecte vnto the Prestes wordes whiche mynystreth it. For yf ye remember for what entent Christe ded instytute thys sacramente, and knowe that it was to put vs in remembraunce of hys bodye breakynge and bloode sheadynge, that we myght geue hym thankes for it, and be as sure of it through fayth accordynge to his promyses, as we are sure of the breade by eatynge of it: yf as I saye, ye remember thys thynge (for whiche intēte onelye the Preste speaketh those wordes) then yf the Prest leaue out those wordes or parte therof, he can not hurte you. For you haue already the effecte and fynall purpose for the whiche he shulde speake them. And agayne yf he shulde whollye altre thē, yet he can not deceyue you. For then ye be sure that he is a lyer, and though you se the Preste brynge you the wyne vnconsecrated, yet neuer stycke at that. For as surelye shall it certyfye your conscyence and outwarde sences though he consecrate it not (so thou consecrate it thy selfe: that is to saye, so thou knowe what is ment therbye and geue hym thankes) as though he made a thousande blessynges ouer it. And so I saye that it is euer consecrated in hys harte that beleueth, though the Preste consecrate it not. And contrarye wyse yf they consecrate it neuer so moche, and thy consecracyon be not bye, it helpeth the not a ryshe. For excepte thou knowe what is ment therby, and beleue, geuynge thākes for hys bodye breakynge and blood sheadynge, it can not profytte them.
|More.| ❧ Nowe where you saye, that yf we see the thynge dysordered by the Preste, & Christes instytucyon broken, and wetynglye receyue it, we make our selfes partakers of the cryme.
|Fryth.| ¶ I answere that yf the reformacyon therof laye in our handes, then sayde you trouth, but syth thys is wryten to pryuate parsones whiche maye not reforme this matter, and that the reformacyon therof resteth onelye in the hande of your Prynce and Parlyamente (for the erroure consysteth not in the mysorderynge of the matter by one Preste onely, but rather of the doctryne of them all, sauynge suche as God hath lyghtened) to these pryuate persons I saye that your doctryne shulde soner be the occasyon of an insurreccyon (whiche we laboure to eschewe) then anye quyetynge of them by Christes doctryne. And therfore syth there is an other waye to the woode, sauynge all vpryght, we wyll auoyde that parellous pathe. But when ye see Christes instytucyon broken and the one kynde lefte out vnto the laye people, why are ye partaker therof?
|More.| ❧ How be it as for hys beleue that taketh it no better but for bare breade and wyne it maketh hym lytell matter consecrated or not, sauynge that the better it is consecrated the more it is ever noyous to hym that receyueth it, hauynge hys conscyence combred with suche an execrable heresy, by which well apeareth that he putteth no dyfferēce betwene the bodye of our lorde in the blessed sacramēt and the comō breade that he eateth at his dyner. But rather he esteameth it lesse. For the one yet I thynke or he begynne, yf he lacke a Prest, he wyll blesse it hym selfe, as for the other he careth not, whether it be blessed or not.
|Fryth.| ¶ What I reaken it more then breade and wyne I wyll shewe you herafter in declarynge the mynde of S. Paule vpon thys sacrament, and that in the conclusyō of thys boke. And in the meane season I wyll saye no more but that he belyeth me. And as for their blessynges and consecracyon profyte not me, excepte I consecrate it my selfe with fayth in Christes bloode, and wyth geuynge hym prayse and thankes for hys inestymable goodnes, whiche whē I was hys enemye recōcyled me vnto hys Father by hys owne death. This consecracyon muste I sette by, yf I wyl haue anye profyte of hys death which the sacrament representeth vnto me. And yf I my selfe do thus consecrate it, then shall I be sure of the frute of hys death. And I saye agayne, that as the Prestes do now vse to consecrate it, it helpeth not the poore comons of a ryshe. For their consecracyon shulde stonde in preachynge vnto them the deathe of Christe whyche hath delyuered them out of the Egypte of synne, and from the fyerye fornace of Pharao the devell.